I’m not even going to sugar coat it, I love cupcakes! In fact, my whole family really loves anything with sugar! While I try to avoid as much sugar as possible, since I am addicted to Pepsi anyway, all bets are off when we hit Disney. There is nothing like the fresh, amazing baked goods Disney provides.

When Disney announced that a Sprinkles was opening in Disney Springs, I just knew we had to try it out. While I love to eat, especially while in Disney, I also hate to spend money when we don’t have to. You can imagine my excitement when I read about (and signed up for) Sprinkles Perks. It’s basically a free rewards system that allows you to accumulate points that turn into free goodies. And who doesn’t want free cupcakes, I mean come on!

Since we only get to Disney once or twice a year and we don’t have a Sprinkles here in Pittsburgh, I figured I would be waiting awhile to get anything for free. NOPE! Just for signing up with your email and phone number, your FIRST cupcake is FREE! I mean, like no brainer — if you are planning to hit Disney Springs anytime soon, go sign up!

What makes it even better? My husband and I each signed up seperately, so when we went to Sprinkles, we each got a free cupcake! Since I was already on sugar-overload from being in Disney all week, I split mine with my toddler. They were amazing! I had the sprinkles-covered one and my husband had a chocolate one! Both were so good! And if you don’t want to wait in line, hit up the cupcake ATM if for no other reason than it is the coolest thing ever!

There is nothing more magical than being at Disney World during the holidays. Whether you have kids or not, the magic and sparkle of the season is present everywhere on property. This is by far my favorite time of the year to go, but it is also the busiest!

Poor planning can cause you to miss some amazing things that happen at WDW around the holidays, and best of all, they are FREE! That’s right! No additional money needed! If you’re like me, spending an additional $70 per person for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is simply just not in our budget, but that doesn’t mean we miss out on the fun!

FREE Things to Get You in the Holiday Spirit at Disney

1. Check Out the Different Resorts** – Disney really goes all out with their resort Christmas decorations. Sticking with strict themes and guidelines, all decorations match the overall theme of the resort. Some highlights to see are the Gingerbread house at The Grand Floridian and the Carousel at the Beach Club. Both are made from real gingerbread and chocolate and they are simply amazing! Make sure to buy a treat from the gingerbread house… you can thank me later!

2. Enjoy Holiday Wishes ** – The evening firework show, Wishes, is transformed into a holiday spectacular show, complete with panoramic fireworks! Set to holiday music and a holiday story that still features your Disney favorites, you can enjoy these fireworks from many locations. My personal recommendation is the hub at the Magic Kingdom or somewhere on Main Street, but you can view them from The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, or the Contemporary as well!

3. Holidays Around the World at Epcot – Enjoying the different countries in Epcot is already on my list of favorite things to do at Disney, but during the holidays, the countries are even more spectacular. In every country, Disney showcases how they do the holidays. Since the majority of workers in each country are natives of that country, the cast members really make the experience amazing!

4. Candle Light Processional – By far my absolute favorite experience during the holidays. Held in the America Pavilion outside of America in Epcot, this beautiful telling of the Christmas Story is always narrated by a celebrity and features the most amazing choir, made up of cast members from around the park that audition for the part! When we saw it last, Gary Sinise did the reading and it was beyond packed! Some areas are reserved for those who choose to the dining package, but it is free to all park guests!

5. Visit the Christmas Shop at Downtown Disney ** – Now it doesn’t have to be the holiday season to enjoy this awesome store, but it is much more magical visiting in December than it is in June! Check out all of the holiday gear that Walt Disney World offers and have the chance to get it personalized right there in the store! Don’t worry, you don’t have to stand there while it’s done. You can pick it up later, or they will deliver it right to your resort with no additional fee! Trim Up The Tree with Disney stuff!

6. Watch the Castle Lighting – Another thing that should not be missed is watching the castle-lighting show at Cinderella’s Castle! This is something they implemented the year we lived down there, and no lie, grown men are known to cry at how beautiful it is! If you are in the Magic Kingdom, make sure to check your time’s guide or the app for what time is happens! You won’t regret it!

7. Check Out the Osborne Family of Lights – Displayed for the last time at Hollywood Studios in 2015 are the Osborne Family of Lights. Millions of lights are strung across the Streets of America and dance to Christmas music blaring through the air! Purchase hot chocolate and cookies, grab a good spot and watch the snow. Feel like you’re being transported up north when it starts snowing and you really get into the Christmas spirit!

So you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy the holiday season if you are a local, or if you are visit the Mouse during this amazing time of year! While these are 7 of the most popular things to do, there are hundreds of holiday happenings around the Disney property during November and December! What are your favorites?

It’s that time of year again. Bunny time! Normally I wait until after the holiday so I can put a great picture of her basket all made up, but since some of these great deals are still going on, I wanted to give everyone the chance to add them to their loot.

I love Easter! I grew up in a non-candy household and some of my Easter gifts were my favorite things that I held on to for years (and still have some things packed away for Lily when she gets older!) Because we don’t do candy, Easter can very quickly turn into Christmas if I’m not careful. That’s why I literally start thinking about Easter right after Christmas when the sales start. If you remember from last year’s Easter post, I got a really awesome Disney princess tent for $5 at Target! Poor Lily is not getting AS much this year, but her haul is pretty solid.

2. Toy Story on DVD – $1.49, which was shipping only. A friend joined The Disney Movie Club from my referral (Thanks Amy!!!) and I got two free Disney movies. I got Saving Mr. Banks, too, but that one’s for me!

3. Letter Flash Cards – $1 at Target. We are working on letters, numbers and shapes pretty hard here so I figured that would be a great tool to use. Plus Lily freaking loves flash cards, we have about 4 sets of different kinds, but no letters!

4. Cinderella socks – $1 at Target.

5. Nail Polish – $0.58 on super clearance at Target. We do weekly manicures so I know this will be a hit!

6. Princess Stickers – $1 at Target. As much as I loathe stickers, my kid absolutely loves them. She will be thrilled.

7. Candy Land game – $1.77 at Walmart. Ok this awesome deal is still going on, so you can score some great games too! Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders and Connect Four are all marked down to $4.77 and there is a $3 off coupon available on coupons.com, making each game only $1.77. That’s a seriously great deal!

8. Chutes and Ladders – $1.77 at Walmart (see above!)

Now, I’m not a total troll of a mom and will pop a piece or two of Sarris Chocolates in there and some Peeps because I freaking love Peeps. Oh and maybe those robins eggs too, my mom always put a few of those in my basket!

Most likely the grand total after adding candy will be about $20, which is actually $5 less than last year! I also may throw a few more things like a toothbrush and toothpaste that I got free with coupons, but right now they aren’t in the basket.

So there you have it! Easter doesn’t have to break the bank if you’re like me and don’t do the whole basket full of candy thing.

This is probably the number one question I get asked when planning someone’s Disney vacation! The truth is – there is no right or wrong way to do Disney, and there is no set of standards when it comes to planning YOUR vacation. Everyone is different and everyone vacations different, so the answer is – maybe!

I am going to take you on a tour of our last Disney trip – two weeks ago from January 14-19, 2015. All prices that I’m going through are current for this year, so if you are using this as a guide, as of right now, this is what you can expect! I will tell you that for our family, we do not benefit from the dining plan.

Bear with me as this post contains a lot of math and numbers – good thing I LOVE math and budgeting!

As a reference point, there are three different levels of the Disney Dining Plan. The prices and meals listed below are per person per night. Notice I said night – you only have as many “points” as you do nights, so on check out day it is possible you are paying for any meals out of pocket depending on when you leave! Children under 3 can eat for free at buffets and can share with their parents at other meals for no additional fees. The children’s prices are for children 3-9 and adults start at age 10.

Type

Includes

Price Per Adult

Price Per Child

Quick Service Dining Plan

2 Quick Service Meals

$41.99

$16.03

1 Snack

Plus Dining Plan**

1 Sit Down Meal

$60.09

$19.23

1 Quick Service Meal

1 Snack

Deluxe Dining Plan

3 Meals of Your Choice

$109.53

$29.86

2 Snacks

** For the remainder of this post I will be comparing against the Plus Dining Plan, as it is the most popular option.

So is the dining plan really worth it? Well, can you eat $60.09 of food per night, not including gratuity? We can’t. And the biggest question to ask yourself is what kind of eater are you? This is particularly important because this is a big place we lose money. We love to share an appetizer with our dinners, especially in Disney where the food is so good! These are not included on the Dining Plan so already that is extra money out of pocket. Also. we almost never order dessert, which IS included. So we lose money again as we are wasting food that we aren’t going to eat! Lastly, if you have children under 3 who are not on the dining plan, but you are eating at a non-buffet restaurant and they need their own food, this is also out of pocket! Seriously those little $8.99 meals add up!

Whew! See.. we didn’t skimp on any meals on our trip! Also, the meals that are not buffets, I wrote down what we got to show you that we do NOT order the cheapest thing on the menu. In fact, at Be Our Guest, I ordered the most expensive (and boy was it worth it!!) Also something to keep in mind is buffets are always more expensive than sit downs, especially when they have characters! We did quite a few character meals, so we actually COULD have spent a lot less if we would have picked other restaurants! But, with a 2 year old who thinks she’s a princess – we’re eating with the characters! So the big question is was it worth not doing the dining plan!

For our family – YES! The cost of the dining plan for us would have been $600.90. Now before you go thinking I wrote this big blog post about saving $10.68 that is NOT the case! The Disney Dining Plan does NOT include gratuity, whereas 18% gratuity is included in all of my figures above! Also, an additional $53.97 was spent that would not have been included on the dining plan – Lily’s meals and my soup are an example! So our total savings by not using the dining plan really came out to be $158.75!! To me and my family, that is a lot of money! Heck that is what I spend on groceries for our family for 2 weeks!

Bottom line – the dining plan is great and can really work in your favor if you want it to, but it all comes down to what works best for your family!

On my to-do list today was to wrap presents. Part of my weekend to-do list is to clean out the room where all of the presents are, so I wanted to get them wrapped and out of the way before Lily accidentally peeks at them.

This year was supposed to be a really small Christmas. We are going to Disney World a few weeks after the holiday and were going to take Lily on the Pirate and Pals Firework Voyage, which was going to be her big gift, running us about $160. Well, after looking into it further and talking with a wonderful Cast Member at Disney, we decided that Lily is a little too young to really enjoy all that it has to offer – especially for that price! So, although I thought in October I was done shopping, I decided to spend a little more! Realistically, she needs none of it!

I love to spoil that kid! She plays with all of her toys and loves them. There are certain things she is very into – she is very much a girly-girl, so I carefully selected every toy I purchased! Something I don’t love is how much toys can cost. Those suckers add up so quickly! Lucky for Lily, I never ever buy anything full price, so I was able to get some phenomenal deals. I tell you, shopping early is the key!

Without further adieu, here is Lily’s Christmas Gift List… totaling $104.93! If I would have had to pay for it all, it would be over $300 and that was at sale prices!

Doc McStuffins Table and Chairs – $20

Little People Aladdin Flying Carpet – Free

Doc McStuffins V-Tech Clipboard – Free

Doc McStuffins Microphone – Free

Vegetable velcro cutting set and boards – Free

Rapunzel high heels – Free

Melissa and Doug Cookie Sheet Set – Free

Rapunzel doll – Free

Sleeping Beauty DVD – $23.99

Goofy Stuffed Animal – Free

Belle and Beast Little People Set – $4.99

2 pair of Disney Pajamas – $4.99 each

Doc McStuffins Operation Game – $19.99

Gone Fishing Game – $4.99

Sophia Tea Party Game – $4.99

Hook Playset – Free

Ariel Pajamas – Free

Cinderella Shirt – Free

Little Critters Book – $6.00

Disney Jr. Book – $6.00

Stitch Ornament – Free

Sophia the First Ornament – Free

Total – $104.93

As you can see, this kid is not being neglected, is still getting her favorite characters and toys, and I didn’t have to break the bank!

So how did I get all of those free things? Well first let me tell you that only two things on this whole list did I pay full price for: The Doc McStuffins Operation game and Sleeping Beauty on DVD. I will also tell you this, I *thought* the operation game was only $8.88 on black Friday, but apparently the Doc version was not included. The signage was terrible and I tried to get Wal-Mart to honor the fact that the game was in the $8.88 section, but they would not. I almost did not buy it, but knew it would be a big hit for Lily so I went ahead and purchased it. I will also tell you that I only shop at Wal-Mart once a year for their Thanksgiving sale, but after this year, I don’t think I will be back. I didn’t feel their sales were anything spectacular! The Sleeping Beauty DVD came from our Disney Move Club membership and truthfully we only got it because I forgot to decline it. I knew Lily would love it, so I kept it for her! Everything else, including the free items, I got on sale!

The Doc McStuffins Clipboard is my favorite deal because I “worked” for it! I used my swagbacks rewards to accumulate Amazon gift cards and ordered it there. The Goofy doll and Hook playset were BOGO at the Disney Store and everything else free was because I used gift cards we got for Lily’s Birthday that I saved!

To top it all off, I am getting $7.50 back from E Bates for ordering everything – so basically for all of the free things I got, I am making $7.50! Now that’s my idea of shopping!

Stay tuned for how to make money and save money on your every-day life and especially at Christmas! If you aren’t doing these things, you are doing it wrong!!!

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